NBA legend wears Doncic’s shoes in protest of shock trade

If you have to explain the joke, it’s probably not a great one. But what about a protest—does the same rule apply? Don Nelson doesn’t seem to think so. The NBA Hall of Famer made his message clear: he was wearing Luka’s new Nike shoes “in protest of the trade from Dallas.”

Speaking at the news conference where he was announced as the recipient of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, Nelson said, “As a matter of fact, I want everybody to know I’m wearing Luka’s shoes—his new shoes from Nike that just hit the market.”

Doncic trade a ‘tremendous mistake’

He didn’t hold back on his opinion of the Mavericks’ decision: “I’m wearing them in protest of the trade from Dallas. Tremendous mistake by the Dallas franchise to trade him, and I want everybody to know that.”

Fans still unhappy about Doncic departure

Nelson, who coached the Mavericks for eight seasons, said his philosophy on never trading generational talents comes from legendary coach and executive Red Auerbach.

“His philosophy was when you have a great player”, Nelson explained, “Bill Russell, [John] Havlicek, Sam Jones, you name ‘em - you don’t lose that player,” Nelson said. “You keep him for a lifetime. You put his number up, and you honour that player. That’s been my philosophy.”

Doncic’s move to the Lakers sent shockwaves through the basketball world, rattling the league, the fanbase, and just about anything more evolved than a single-cell organism. Fans erupted in protest almost immediately and have been teetering on chaos ever since. Even landing the first pick in the upcoming Draft has done little to calm the storm.

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What’s more, Luka Doncic himself appears to have recently undergone a sensational physical transformation, stunning everyone in the world of NBA as he paraded down the street looking primed for taking on the world in the yellow and purple.

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